Club Leaders:

On Sunday, October 9, Michigan Swimming held its Fall 2022 Annual House of Delegates meeting at the Detroit Marriott Livonia. Two weeks prior, USA Swimming held its annual House of Delegates meeting. Below are key updates from both meetings.

Thank you for your support and continued involvement in our sport.

Sincerely,

Michigan Swimming, Inc. Board of Directors

The Michigan Swimming House of Delegates reviewed eighteen proposed amendments to the organization's governing documents. Full results of the legislative session can be viewed here.

Selected highlights:

• R-1, Entry Surcharges: Clubs are now permitted to include and collect up to $10 per athlete in surcharges at regular season competitions without additional approval from Michigan Swimming

• R-3, Deck Referees: Meet Referee and Deck Referee certification levels have been combined into a single "Referee" certification, and the Deck Referee position is no longer required or paid-for by Michigan Swimming at sanctioned competitions. Additional information on implementation for this change will be distributed shortly

• R-8, Deck Registration: Athletes may no longer deck register with USA Swimming/Michigan Swimming at competitions, due to new processes implemented with online member registration. Deck entries are not affected

• R-14, Officials' Pay Schedule: Referees and Administrative Officials are now compensated at a rate of $50 per session, and all other officials are compensated at a rate of $45 per session at sanctioned/approved competitions

• B-2, Group Member Representatives: All group member non-athlete and athlete representatives (also known informally as "voting delegates") must be registered and in good standing with USA Swimming/Michigan Swimming, per USA Swimming rule change

If you have questions about a specific amendment to the governing documents, please contact Joe Gazzarato, Chairman of the Board of Directors, at [email protected].

The following individuals were elected to the Michigan Swimming Board of Directors with terms beginning January 1, 2023:

• Vice-Chair of Administration: Karen Schwartz
• Vice-Chair of Safe Sport & Operational Risk: Sallie Bartkowiak & Dr, Melissa Millerick-May (Co-Vice-Chairs)
• Vice-Chair of Senior Programs: Gunnar Schmidt & Erica Thomas (Co-Vice-Chairs)
• Junior Coach Representative: Drew Edson
• Junior Athlete Representative: Dominick Ducato

If you or someone you know is interested in serving a one-year term as Vice-Chair of Finance, please contact Joe Gazzarato, Chairman of the Board of Directors, at [email protected].

The USA Swimming House of Delegates reviewed numerous proposed amendments to the organization's governing documents. Full results of the legislative session can be viewed here.

Selected highlights:

• R-2 & R-3, Marshals: Two marshals must be present at all times during sanctioned/approved competitions, with at least one of each gender

• R-16, Medical Supervision Statement: Meet announcements must contain a description of the medical supervision (e.g., lifeguards, EMT, AED device, etc.) available to competition participants as a condition of sanction/approval

• R-17 & R-18, Transfer Unattached Period: After a transfer, athletes must compete unattached for a period of sixty (60) consecutive days following the last date the athlete represented a USA Swimming club or national federation in open competition, reduced from one hundred twenty (120) consecutive days under the previous rule

• RES-1, Individual Seasonal Athlete Memberships: Increase the USA Swimming portion of the individual seasonal athlete membership fee to $40 beginning with the 2024 registration year, increased from $30 under the previous authorization of the House of Delegates

USA Swimming withdrew R-15 - a proposal to require a written quality control system as a condition of sanction - pending further review and dialogue with the U.S. Center for SafeSport before bringing a modified version before the House of Delegates at a future meeting. While not currently a requirement for sanction, we encourage clubs to review the USA Swimming-developed Safe Sport Meet 360 protocol and implement it to the extent feasible for the protection of all participants.

If you have questions about a specific amendment to the governing documents, please contact the USA Swimming Rules & Regulations committee at [email protected].

• The Michigan Swimming fee schedule for the 2023 registration year can be viewed on the Michigan Swimming website

• For the 2023 registration year only, to assist with implementation of online member registration and ensure equitable application of the rules while new processes are being established, the transfer fee has been waived for all members

• All members must be registered and in good standing to engage in any USA Swimming/Michigan Swimming activities; see the reminder on the Michigan Swimming website for additional information

• Michigan Swimming will return to normal and automatic enforcement of fines/penalties for rule/policy violations, effective September 1, 2022. If you have questions, please contact the Michigan Swimming Office

• Thank you for your continued patience as online member registration/SWIMS 3.0 is rolled-out and USA Swimming pushes bug fixes/enhancements; if you need assistance, please send an e-mail to the dedicated helpdesk at [email protected] to ensure the best service

• Clubs may now renew their club membership for the 2023 registration year. To do this, the club administrator must log-in to SWIMS 3.0, select "Club" from the to navigation menu, select "Club Renewal", and complete the form. Clubs will pay the USA Swimming portion of the fee directly to USA Swimming, and Michigan Swimming will invoice clubs for the Michigan Swimming portion of the fee